Last Week around the Leagues

by Fran Stuchbury
September 3, 2019 - BIG3 (BIG3)

Last week Atlanta United FC striker Josef Martinez scored a goal in his 13th straight game, the Triplets won the Big3 Championship and both the Florida State League and Gulf Coast League cancelled their postseasons due to Hurricane Dorian. Highlights from this week are from the Canadian Football League, Major League Soccer, Midwest League, Pioneer League and the Big3.

FOOTBALL

Canadian Football League

Winnipeg Blue Bomber running back Andrew Harris has been suspended for two games after testing positive for Metandienone, which is a banned substance under the drug policy of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA).

Saskatchewan's Brett Lauther makes a game winning 26-yard field goal against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers giving them a 19-17 victory.

A 96-yard TD bomb from Toronto Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to Derel Walker:

Indoor Football League

The San Diego Strike Force announced the return of Burt Grossman and Derek Dahlen to the team's football staff for the 2020 IFL season.

BASEBALL

Florida State League

Florida State League President Ken Carson announced today that the Florida State League final weekend series and postseason will be canceled because of the threat of Hurricane Dorian's potential impact.

Gulf Coast League

The Gulf Coast League today announced it has canceled the final two games of the season and the league playoff series as Florida prepares for the impact of Hurricane Dorian. The league's three division champions have already been decided with the GCL Marlins winning the East division, the GCL Phillies West claiming the North division title and GCL Orioles clinching the South division championship.

Eastern League

The Eastern League of Professional Baseball is pleased to announce that Chris Gittens of the Trenton Thunder has been selected as the winner of the 2019 Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award. Gittens is hitting .279 (107-for-384) with 16 doubles, one triple, 22 home runs, 75 RBIs, 55 runs scored, a .497 slugging percentage, and a .392 on-base percentage in 111 games for the Thunder this season.

The Reading Fightin Phils welcomed their 15 millionth fan in 2019, drawing 398,314 over 67 home openings at FirstEnergy Stadium throughout this season. Beginning as the home to the Reading Indians in 1952, FirstEnergy Stadium's all-time regular season attendance now stands at 15,248,890.

Pacific Coast League

The Pacific Coast League announced that Las Vegas Aviators manager Fran Riordan has been elected the Pacific Coast League's Manager of the Year. This is Riordan's first Manager of the Year award, and the Las Vegas franchise's third winner. Riordan joins Brad Mills (2002) and Wally Backman (2014) as the only Las Vegas skippers to win the award.

Midwest League

Fort Wayne TinCaps - to become a pro, you gotta prep like one.

Pioneer League

Hey, the Missoula Osprey found Nemo.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer

13 straight games with a goal for Atlanta United FC striker Josef Martinez

All seven goals in the Seattle Sounders FC 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy

United Soccer League Championships

The United Soccer League (USL) announced a new three-year rights agreement with ESPN on that features the USL Championship and League One matches through the 2022 season.

BASKETBALL

BIG3

BIG3, the premier global 3-on-3 basketball league, announced two basketball legends have won the top two individual awards of the season with Joe Johnson claiming league Most Valuable Player and Lisa Leslie being named Coach of the Year who are with the Triplets.

The Triplets won the Big3 Championship defeating the Killer 3s 50-39. Here are the highlights.

NBA G League

The NBA G League released its complete game schedule for the 2019-20 regular season, which will tip off on Friday, Nov. 8. A record 28 teams will compete in the NBA G League's 19th season. Each team will play a 50-game schedule with 24 home games, 24 road games and two games at the annual NBA G League Winter Showcase.

The Santa Cruz Warriors, the NBA G League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, announced that Ryan Atkinson has been promoted to general manager after most recently serving as the team's assistant general manager and director of team player development. Kent Lacob, who served as the team's general manager since 2016, has transitioned to the Golden State Warriors as director of team development.

HOCKEY

National Women's Hockey League

In a celebration of women's hockey and the pond hockey roots of the sport, the Buffalo Beauts will play the Metropolitan Riveters in the Buffalo Believes Classic - an NWHL outdoor regular season game on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at RiverWorks, located on the banks of the Buffalo River.

OTHER SPORTS

National Pro Fastpitch

National Pro Fastpitch announced the 2020 season schedule will take on an original, and brand new look for the league, placing competition inside a Series Event model designed for multi-team competition. The new model will see regular season format change from one-on-one match-ups, to a multi-team format that will include a minimum of three teams. The teams will play each other in a pre-designed, fairly matched layout, which will ultimately determine a winner for each series.

Did we miss anything newsworthy or downright fun? Have a nomination for next week's column? Contact us today and let us know.

BIG3 Stories from September 3, 2019

• Last Week around the Leagues - OSC Original by Fran Stuchbury

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.